Help! 4 Month Old with High Maintenance Sleep Habits!

2-3 times a night is normal for this age. Especially if he's breast fed. And I don't care what anyone tells you, cereal will NOT make him sleep longer. I don't know anyone, personnelly, who says it did for them (including me). If he likes to be swaddled keep it up. It is comforting to him. My son hated it. My daughter liked it until about 1 mos. There are swaddler blankets out there, try one of those. As for the boppy. Wait until he's asleep and then remove it. After a few times of doing this he will get use to it not being there. Imagine you stop sleeping with a pillow. It would take you time to get use to it too, so why would that be different for him. You need to be patient.

1 mom found this helpful

Hey R.,

Four months old is still young to expect your son to sleep through the night. One suggestion is to make sure he is getting enough to eat though out the day. Are you nursing exclusively or are you bottle feeding. If you are doing both maybe try to do the formula bottle at the last feeding and maybe it will hold him longer. I do not know much about breastfeeding because I didn't but I do know that breastfed babies do eat more frequently and most times require more frequent nighttime feedings so it may be too soon for you to expect him to sleep longer. My kids at around 11 or 12 weeks slept from around 11-6 but like I said they were formula fed so I am not sure if that is why or not. Also as far as sleeping on the Boppy pillow, as soon as he falls asleep take it away so he will get used to sleeping without it. Some babies do not like to sleep on their backs no matter what you do. If he likes being elevated you can elevate the top part of his mattress a tiny bit with some blankets underneath it (like you would if they had a cold) and maybe he will like that better. It may take a few days but he will get used to it. Trust me we all did anything we could at one time or another to get our babies to sleep so don't blame yourself. He is way to young to let him cry however you can let him fuss for a few minutes. Let him try to figure it out on his own it will not hurt him. As long as he is fed, and dry it is not wrong to let him fuss for a few minutes. Do you use music I always put my kids in the crib with music and it was such a nice distraction most times I would go in to check on them and they would be fast asleep on their own!! Good luck and be patient it will come I know how tired you are but this too shall pass!!

My son wouldn't sleep on his back either, but that boppy is dangerous! Once he starts rolling over, he could easily get stuck face-down on it. I had great success with a sleep positioner. I put him on his side, and he slept much better that way.

Also, gotta say- 2-3 times a night isn't that unusual for 4 months! I know you hear all kinds of stories about babies sleeping through the night earlier than that. But a huge growth spurt happens at 4 months, both physically and mentally! And "through the night" really means 5-6 hours, not 12. Once your little one is ready, he will sleep through. And you may have to sort of wean him off the swaddle (when you think he's ready). Once he's rolling over, he will work it out. But that may mean a couple of weeks of even MORE wakings at night, since he'll need your help to roll back at first!

Sorry, hon! It's just a rough time, I know!

This is a pretty good one to remark to. My son was like that. I had to start an hour before his real bedtime and create an atmosphere of just enough fun to tucker him out and start slowly patting his back as I put him on his stomach and then his bottom with just enough pressure consistantly until he closed his eyes and eventually went to sleep knowing I was there. It will take some time, but, he will be sleeping all through the nights unless he has a stomach ache or problem.

I agree with the last response about avoiding the cereal to make him sleep and getting a swaddler blanket....they're much easier to use than a regular blanket. If he likes to be propped up while sleeping, I would try putting a wedge in his crib. (They're not expensive, we got one at Babies R Us.) It's safer than letting him sleep on the boppy and it'll prop him up, so he's not lying flat.
Good luck